vetkrazy, when you are shooting the players in a sport what part of the players body do you focus on? I also try and shoot at 2.8 in baseball and soccer but find I lose the tight sharpness. If I focus on the player's face I typically get too much dead space above the player. Any suggestions?
I don't have a "one size fits all" answer. It is kind of different stokes for different sports.
Baseball/Softball: For batter I try to set focus on the face, lock it with CF4-3 then recompose for the shot. I normally do this as the pitcher starts their motion. If I plan to follow the batter out of the box I thumb over to focus and grab a major part of their body, chest, etc. I normally use center point whether I am vertical or horizontal.
Soccer: Here the level you are shooting makes a difference. College is much faster then AYSO. For college I normally shoot vertical with center point and target the chest area. This is were DOF works for you. A 30D at 200mm, f/2.8 and the subject 25 feet away your DOF for sharpness is 6 inches. Thats 3'' in front and 3'' in back. But move the subject to 75 feet and the DOF becomes 4.5 feet, 2 plus either way. So on a soccer pitch with most of the action 50-100 feet from you, focusing on the chest should give you a sharp picture. If you shoot raw you can check your focus point with Zoombrowser. Focusing on the face is always desirable but not always possible or practical. A 1 series, 300mm at 100 feet has DOF of 4.3 feet, more than enough for a sharp shot.
Volleyball: A horse of a different color here. When I shoot vertical I use the the far right point and horizontal at the net, top center.
Bruce
